Green Party of New Jersey
Updated
May 09, 2008
Nader:
Get Involved
Asbury Park Press 10/16/00 Page 1
By Georgia East, Middletown Bureau
RED BANK -- Presidential candidate Ralph Nader didn't speak of ways to win the upcoming election when addressing about 700 people at the Count Basie Theatre on Sunday. Instead, he explained how people could shape their nation's future by backing the Green Party's goals.
It was a topic that fit the crowd: mostly teen-agers -- the voters of the future -- and college students who said they came to the fund-raiser to learn more about Nader's agenda and about issues not discussed during the recent presidential debates. Admittance was $10 per person.
"We've got to blaze the way with a new political party and movement," Nader said. "It's not about the number of votes we get on November 7. It's more the respect citizen groups will be given."
In a speech filled with enthusiasm and humor, Nader spoke at length about the need to shift control of politics from corporations to everyday people. The Green Party stresses grassroots democracy and focuses on social welfare and environmental issues, among others.
He challenged the audience to join the Green Party in battling injustices in their communities by getting involved in issues, and he spoke of how he had, in the past, successfully fought the automobile industry for better safety measures.
"There's too much power in too few hands," said Nader, outlining the ways in which political candidates accept corporate donations and how that harms democracy. "It's corrupt for corporations to hijack democracy," Nader said. He has vowed to accept only public donations, not corporate contributions.
Nader lashed out against his opponents, Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore, saying that the real issues are being ignored. "Neither Bush nor Gore want to talk about the working poor," said Nader.
Forty-seven million people in the country don't come close to earning a wage they can live on, he said. The Green Party wants the minimum wage increased by at least $2 per hour.
Throughout his campaign, Nader has spoken against the fact that third parties are not allowed to take part in the televised political debates. Nader announced that he is filing a lawsuit in federal court today against the Presidential Debate Commission for not allowing him to attend the presidential debate in Boston as an audience member, despite having a ticket.
"They expelled the wrong guy this time," said Nader, adding, "Al Gore and George Bush, enjoy yourself in St. Louis. Agree, agree, because this is the last time you'll be able to get away with it."
Many audience members supported Nader's statements. "I'm 17, and I can't vote, but I appreciate knowing all of this," said Amir Ahuja, 17, a student at High Technology High School in Middletown. "I'll vote for him in the next election."
The debates between Gore and Bush were just as boring as Nader had described them, Ahuja said, adding, "He's the first candidate to talk about real issues."
Bill Wetzel, 20, of Little Silver said about the presidential debates, "I just feel we're not given enough choices."
Wetzel told Nader, at a reception held after the speech, that he enjoyed hearing about the issues. Admittance to the reception cost $100 per person; about 90 people attended.
"I was up in the air, but I'm absolutely convinced," said Craig Canfield of Tinton Falls. "He listed issues that are completely glossed over in the media."
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